A quick snippet of my recent travels to Malaysia: the markets in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur

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Although I have travelled to South East Asia at least five times in my 25 years, Malaysia is one country I hadn’t yet taken the time to explore – not through disinterest by any means. This year, I am lucky enough to add Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi to the list of destinations I have visited.

Unfortunately, with the social media saturation – and endless bikini photos in infinity pools – of Bali, it is easy to forget that there are other magnificent destinations within the South East Asia region to go and discover. I am the first to admit that, sometimes, what I see on social media clouds my vision of my bucket list of ‘must visit’ destinations, and trust me, it frustrates me to no end! Sure, Kuala Lumpur may not be home to white sand beaches and sprawling resorts like Bali and other South East Asian islands are, but it’s population of 1.6 million means the city is bursting with activity, history and a whole lot of diversity. In many ways, Kuala Lumpur reminds me very much of Singapore. The air is hot and wet, the weather unpredictable, and the people are so gosh darn nice that you wonder what you did to deserve such consideration. It has that busy, big city feel, with more luxury brands and giant Sephora‘s than you can ever imagine, all interspersed with more traditional street markets and humble shack homes.

One of the many interesting places that we got to visit on our whirlwind trip to Malaysia with AirAsia, was Chow Kit – a former ‘prostitute and drug haven’ of Kuala Lumpur. Although those days are now far gone, Chow Kit is still off limits for some locals (because of what it once was), but Jenelle and I got to discover an incredibly vibrant, colourful, real side of Kuala Lumpur while we wandered the food markets in the area. From fruit and veg stalls, dried seafood and durian stalls (yes, we tried it… just you wait for those videos!); to satay and teh tarik, there was so much to see, smell and eat. The hustle and bustle was a stark contrast to the comfort of our luxury hotel, and even the affluent area around the Petronas towers, but it was such an interesting change of scenery – scenery that gave us a little more insight into how some of the population of Kuala Lumpur live.

Over the coming weeks, I have a tonne of content to share from Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, so be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin’ to be notified when new posts go live!

So, stay tuned for more information about what we got up to in Chow Kit, as well as the rest of Kuala Lumpur…